By Mark Zinman | Zona Law
Question: I had an applicant apply for a home that I had listed on a few different websites. This home should have been listed for $2,424.00 however, due to a typo, the home was actually listed for $2,242.00 – basically a $200 difference. Can we tell them that the home is actually $2,424.00 or do we need to honor the $2,242.00 price?
Answer: You are dealing with two different parts of the law at the same time, and the issue must be analyzed under both laws. First, under contract law, you aren’t contractually bound to a price until the lease is signed. It is common for parties to negotiate, and neither party is bound until the negotiating is done and the contract is signed. However, you must be aware that they could raise consumer fraud claims and argue bait and switch. People regularly file such claims with the Attorney General Consumer Protection division. You would have to argue it wasn’t intentional, it was just a mistake, and show how it was a mistake. In other words, you aren’t legally bound until the lease is signed, but they could raise other complaints that you would defend.